It can be frustrating sometimes when you know you want to do a good deed for a stranger but just don’t know how to go about doing it.
Trying to think of something totally selfless can have some people pondering for a while on the best way to do it.
For one Alabama man, however, being selfless was second nature.
Hody Childress, an 80-year-old retired Air Force veteran, was a kind, generous, and gentle soul right from the start.
His daughter, Tania Nix, said that while her father was never a big spender, he would always donate whenever and wherever he could.
One day, while waiting in line to pick up his medication at the pharmacy, he saw that the woman in front of him was having a hard time paying for her prescriptions.
When it was his turn to speak to the pharmacist, Brooke Walker, Hody asked her if that was a regular occurrence for lots of people.
Brooke let him know that; unfortunately, it was.
It was then that Hody decided that he wanted to help the people of his community.
After finishing his transaction, he handed her a folded-up bill and told her to keep it and use it to help the next person who was struggling.
Brooke realized only after he left that he had handed her a $100 bill.
Later that month, Hody returned and gave her another $100 with the same stipulation.
He told Brooke that he wanted to remain 100% anonymous; he didn’t want to know about the people he helped, and he didn’t want them to know about him.
For 10 years, Hody would continue to drop $100 off with Brooke at the start of every month.
No one except the two of them ever knew what he was doing.
It wasn’t until a short time before he passed away, that Hody told his children what he had been doing.
“It was just who he was,” his daughter Tania said, “it was in his heart.”
Tania and her brother have decided to continue on in their father’s legacy.
Through the newly formed Hody Childress Fund, the people in the community are still able to afford their medication.
Brooke has said that, as long as the family wants to continue, she will also continue the tradition.
Tania speculates that Hody’s desire to help people be able to afford their medications is because of his wife’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
He knew exactly how costly certain medications could be, and never wanted anyone to have to choose between taking their prescriptions or putting food on the table.
Hody lived a simple, quiet life with his wife and children and was happiest when he could be out on his tractor, whether working on his own farm or helping his neighbors.
Brooke believes that she, and the rest of their community, will always remember Hody.
“His kindness motivated me to be more of a compassionate person.” she said, “He was just a good old guy who wanted to bless his community, and he certainly did. He established a legacy of kindness.”
Meet Brooke and Hody’s proud children in the video linked below.
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